Matawan-Aberdeen Regional School District
Matawan-Aberdeen projects a $4.6 million health-care cost increase next year
The district is planning for health-care costs to rise about 25%, or $4.6 million, in 2027–28.
Read the full storyNew Jersey funding & finance — school board news
Friday, November 13, 2026
Board asked to hand custodial work to an outside company
Trenton Public School District
State adjustment aid of $20.4 million fell to zero while payments to charter schools rose to $76.5 million
Trenton Public School District
The board ratified a $715,000 transfer out of the charter school payment line into health benefits after the money had already moved
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Taxes held flat for years by spending down a large savings account
Linden's local school tax levy has been exactly $92,215,916 in every year its budget filings report, so local taxpayers have had no increase. The district funds the gap with state aid, which rises to $74,041,895 in 2026-27, and with its reserves: the capital reserve falls from $58.8 million audited at June 2024 to $56.7 million at June 2025 and a projected $38.5 million by June 2027, and the legal reserve is projected to reach zero over the same period. The business administrator told the board in March 2026 that the district is now ten to twelve million dollars below adequacy under the state's funding formula, and the audited accounts warn that using fund balance for day-to-day operations means it must be replenished every year.
Egg Harbor Township School District
More of the budget comes from the state than from local taxes
Egg Harbor Township is unusual: its 2026-27 plan takes $90,304,320 in state aid against a local levy of $84,542,540, so Trenton supplies more of the general fund than local property tax does. The audited accounts record that state aid rose $3,154,496 for 2025-26 because of additional funding required to ensure fair funding, and that the levy that year created $3,995,198 of banked cap the district can draw on later. Against that, the general fund spent $4,106,276 more than it took in during 2024-25, and spending per pupil rises to $23,111 while enrolment is expected to edge down to 7,414.
Local school taxes up 6% as state aid edges down
Belleville's 2026-27 budget raises the local tax levy to $52,630,900 from $49,657,745, an increase of about 6%, while state aid falls slightly to $68,098,422 from $69,153,615. Unlike most New Jersey districts, Belleville depends mainly on the state: in 2024-25 state sources supplied 64% of general-fund revenue against 36% from local sources. The budget also takes $1,000,000 out of the capital reserve, which is set to fall from $4.5 million to about $3.21 million over two years, and spending per pupil rises to a planned $23,313 while enrolment drops to an estimated 4,847.
Howell Township Public School District
School tax bill rises 6.7% while student numbers fall
Howell's state-filed 2026-27 budget raises the local school tax levy to $99.4 million, up from $93.2 million, an increase of about $6.2 million or 6.7%. Over the same period the district expects 5,912 students in October 2026, down from 6,063 two years earlier. Spending per student rises to a planned $22,515, up from $21,618 in the revised 2025-26 budget.
Howell Township Public School District
District's savings cushion is set to halve in three years
The same 2026-27 budget filing shows Howell's unrestricted general operating fund balance - the district's uncommitted savings - falling from $5.67 million audited at June 30, 2024 to $4.36 million audited at June 30, 2025, then to an estimated $3.24 million in 2026 and $2.74 million in 2027. The district also plans to spend $3.5 million of prior-year money inside each of the last two budgets.
Gloucester Township School District
Substitute teachers face a 20% pay cut; decision put off
About seventy substitute teachers came to the June 1, 2026 meeting to protest a proposal cutting their pay by roughly 20% and removing their dental and vision coverage. They said they had been asked to sign new contracts by June 18, before the board had voted on the change. The board deferred the vote to June 29, and then tabled it rather than deciding either way, saying it did not want to rush. The board also agreed to publish a line-by-line explanation of what had been cut from the budget and why.
District borrows $9 million after state delays its aid
At a special meeting on June 9, 2026 the board authorised a $9,000,000 State School Aid Anticipation Note. New Jersey told districts it would delay the June 22, 2026 state aid payment until about July 14 or 15, and East Orange had to borrow against that payment to cover its own bills in the meantime. New Jersey law allows these short-term loans for exactly this reason, and both the state education department and the county superintendent had to approve.
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